A place to share ideas on making a comfortable home. I do it through quilting, being faithful to my Faith, and caring for my family. Being a Catholic, sewing, and baking cookies are a few of my favorite things. I'm open to discussion!
No
dictionary has been able to adequately explain the difference between COMPLETE
and FINISHED. However, in a recent linguistic conference held in London, England, and attended by some of the
best linguists in the world: Samsundar Balgobin, a Guyanese, was the clear
winner.
His
final challenge was this: Some say there is no difference between COMPLETE and
FINISHED. Please explain the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED in a way
that is easy to understand.
Here
is his astute answer:
"When
you marry the right woman, you are COMPLETE. But, when you marry the wrong
woman, you are FINISHED. And when the right one catches you with the wrong one,
you are COMPLETELY FINISHED!"
His
answer was received with a standing ovation lasting over 5
minutes.
A fun way to look forward to Christmas is to have a cookie baking day with the children! What better way to do this than to have cut out cookies but only use star cookie cutters as we look for and wait for the Star of Bethlehem to make it's appearance. This is a very simple recipe. When the cookies are baked and cooled, decorate them with sugar the color of Advent (purples) with a few cookies with golden sugar to show what is to come. It's a great way to give the children some time in the kitchen with you and help with the excited anticipation of the holiday with a hands-on project and the Christmas story, too!
Advent Sugar Cookies
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Preheat oven to 357 degrees and line your baking sheets with parchment paper or use vegetable oil spray. Mix together the dry ingredient and set aside. In a mixing bowl, whip together the butter and sugar until fluffy and blended. Add the egg and extracts. Stir in the flour mixture. The dough should be manageable. If not, add bits of flour as necessary.
Roll half the dough out on a lightly-floured board, about 1/4 inch thick. You can go thicker if you are working with little ones to avoid breakage. Using your star cookie cutter, cut them out as close as possible to avoid too much re-rolling of the dough. Place about an inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for approximately 8-12 minutes depending on how thick you cut the cookies. Let rest a few minutes on the baking sheet once they exit the oven. Remove to a rack to complete cooling.
Basic White Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon corn syrup
Enough milk to form a spreadable icing
Gold and purple sugar or decorations.
To avoid excessive clean up, tape sheets of waxed paper down on the table for the decorating. When you are done, just carefully roll up the waxed paper and you should have an easier clean up.
Jeremiah 33:14-16 33:14 The days are surely
coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of
Israel and the house of Judah.
33:15 In those days and at that time I
will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute
justice and righteousness in the land.
33:16 In those days Judah will be
saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will
be called: "The LORD is our righteousness."
The year continues it's mad spiral towards it's end. We are into the last few weeks of 2012 already. All our New Year's resolutions either happened or are now long forgotten. Sometimes, it seems like the year consists of Christmas/New Year's/Christmas, etc. with everyone in between getting lost in the busy shuffle of life.
I find it sad that Christmas items went on the store shelves before Thanksgiving turkeys were in the store. It takes away from the anticipation as we drag out the preparation of the holiday with early-bird sales.
When I was growing up, the week after Thanksgiving gave way to the beginning thoughts of Christmas. I would thrill at every little aspect of the holiday that would slowly come into play. We never put gifts under the tree because the Christmas tree didn't go up until a few days before Christmas. We had the gift of anticipation! I would go to Midnight Mass with my mother and when we came home, the house had changed! We were still hearing Christmas Carols in our head while we witnessed the coming of the Christ Child as gifts were now under the tree. I never knew how my mother accomplished this but no matter how close I kept to her side, the presents and lit tree always happened.
Since the cold weather hasn't really arrived in California, this little bird seemed to be considering his options: stay and enjoy the weather or take off for warmer climes in case really cold weather finds it's way here.
We have the most uninterested dogs when it comes to the various birds that visit our yard. I've seen them both sitting on the patio and watching the birds frolic in their water bowl and help themselves to dog food. The dogs don't wiggle an ear or bat an eye over this, bat an eye.
